YouTube gave fake news report on live stream Notre-Dame brand

YouTube’s algorithm saw live streams of the Notre Dame fire Monday night as fake news. The video also featured an article about the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers of the WTC on September 11, 2001.

A YouTube spokesperson admitted to Buzzfeed that the algorithm miscalculated which videos should be notified. During the live streams of the Notre Dame fire, users received a pop-up with an article about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. YouTube removed the notification after a few minutes, but a number of Twitter users were already there that reported on this.

YouTube’s feature of showing users ‘topical context’ is part of a bigger picture to ensure that people are less exposed to fake news. The video site also wants to increase the supply of local news and send users more to publications of major news publishers.

Many users of social media channels such as Facebook and YouTube streamed images of Monday night’s Notre-Dame fire, when a significant portion of the French monument went up in flames. The cause of the fire is not yet clear, but it appears to be an accident during the renovation of the cathedral.